Remotely controlled toy



Nov. 15, 1949 J. w. ARPIN REMOTELY CONTROLLED TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29, 1949 l l llr INVENTOR ATTORNEY 15, 1949 J. w. ARPIN REMOTELY GONTROLLED TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 29. 1949 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REMOTELY CONTROLLED TOY John William Arpin, Montclair, N. J.

Application anuary 29, 1949, Serial No. 73,599

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to toys and more particularly to a toy which may be steered and driven by remote control. In general, toys of this nature take the form of vehicles such as an automobile of which the wheels are steered by a solenoid arrangement or the like. Driving power is generally supplied by an electric motor which actuates the front or rear pair of wheels or their axles.

The present invention provides a toy which performs both steering and driving functions with a minimum of parts so as to render the toy less prone to mechanical disorders while effectlng considerable manufacturing economies. It is most important in a toy of this type to reduce manufacturing costs so that the article can be produced and sold at a reasonable and attractive price. The instant invention substantially eliminates separate steering means in that the driving power itself is so arranged in combination with the wheel structure that the steering is automatically accomplished thereby. This is effected by pivoting of an axle upon which the wheels are freely rotatable. The driving power is applied to only one wheel and the pivoted nature of the axle permits it to swing pursuant to the driving power applied to said one wheel so that the car is driven with the axle in swung position. This constitutes steering the vehicle. As will be hereinafter explained, the vehicle may be effectively steered either to the right or to the left and reversal in a curved direction is also provided.

In a second preferred embodiment of the invention, the vehicle may be completely steered either to the left or to the right by means of a remote steering wheel which simulates that of a conventional automobile.

The invention will be further understood from the following description and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a toy vehicle and its remote controlling apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is an internal plan View of the motorand driven wheels and illustrating the electrical connections.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section along the lines 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the course of a forwardly driven vehicle and including interruptions thereof.

Fig. 7 is a schematic View illustrating a modifled embodiment.

In the form shown, the toy comprises an automotive vehicle having a body H! which simulates a conventional automobile. Body l0 may take the form of a hollow plastic member. The rear wheels H and I2 are freely rotatable on axle l3 which connects them. A pair of struts l4 and 15 may be molded integral with the vehicle body and terminate in yokes l6 and I1 into which the axle l3 may be snapped. This is conventional practice in connecting the rear wheels of a toy vehicle.

A bottom plate I8 supports the front wheels 19 and 20 as well as the electric motor 2|. Plate I8 is connected to the vehicle as by resilient pins 18a which snap into suitable openings therethrough. Motor 2| and wheels I9 and 20 are as sembled as a sub-unit which is pivoted as by a rivet 22 to the plate I8. Thus, the motor and front wheels turn in unison.

Motor 2| is of a conventional type'which is driven through the usual 1 volt battery cells such as used in flashlights. In the form shown, its housing is of plastic. The portion Zia there'- of contains the armature and commutator while the portion 2lb contains the permanent magnet field. Because of the particular shape of the motor illustrated, wheel I9 is connected to portion 2lb by its stub shaft 23 inserted through block 24 which is in turn suitably connected to portion 2|b as by being glued or riveted thereto. Wheel 20 is connected to portion 2!!) through its stub shaft 25 which is similarly secured in block 26. Block 26 is in turn secured to portion 2Ib. Stub shafts 23 and 25 jointly constitute, in effect, the front axle and they are discontinuous only because of motor portion 2|b which extends between them. Wheels and 20 are freely rotatable on such stub shafts or front axle.

Shaft 29 of the motor may have applied thereover a collar 30 and a rubber sleeve 3| which serves as friction pulley for the belt 32. Belt 32 may advantageously take the form of an ordinary rubber band which is connected between sleeve 3| and pulley 33 connected to wheel 20.

The normal size of rubber belt 32 is such that it is maintained in stretched condition between pulleys 3| and 33. Pulley 33 may, in actual practice, take the form of a simple plastic disc which is beveled inwardly as illustrated in Fig. 5, so that the rubber belt 32 rests between the pulley 33 and the wheel 20. It is firmly connected to wheel 24 by having an inner ledge thereof clamped in the metal, rivet-type hub 35. It may alternatively be adhesively secured to the Wheel 20, if desired, or may be integral therewith.

The commutator of the motor has the usual brushes, not shown, which have their terminals in motor housing portion 2 l a. To these terminals are connected wires 36 and 31 which may be n the form of a two-wire conductor. Wires 36 and 31 may be approximately 6 or more feet long so as to permit operation of the vehicle while the operator is standing or walking. Wires 36 and 31 are provided with suitable insulation, and in order to mechanically secure them, a ledge 38 is provided around which they may be coiled as illustrated in Fig. 2. The wires are connected at their remote end to a double pole, double throw switch 39 which is inturn connected to the battery source of power 40, as illustratedinFig. 3.

Switch 39 comprises a pair of poles 4'1 and an opposing pair of poles 42. Arm 43 .may effect contact with the poles 41 or 42 or may have a neutral position wherein the battery is cut off from the motor. Battery 40 may take the form of two series disposed 1 volt cells enclosed in a plastic case 44 which is conveniently held in the hand while the button or arm 43 is actuated by the thumb'in the operation of the vehicle,

Plate 1'8 is formed with side cut-outs 45 and 45a to accommodate the movement of wheels 19 and 20. The underside .of plate 18 has formed thereon the projections 46 and '4? which determine the limits of swing of the front axle and thus determine the steering of the vehicle. As Willbehereinafter explained, projection 46 dictates the leftward bias of the vehicle in its forward motion .while projection il dictates the rightward steering during forward motion and the extent of the circular action in the rearward movementof the vehicle.

The operation of the vehicle in the'form shown is as follows:

When arm 43 is snapped into the position where it connects the terminals 4|, a circuit is formed with the armature of motor 21 which operates'it inaforward direction. Inasmuch as the driving power is only applied to wheel 20 thereby producing a differential actuation of the front wheels, wheel'ZO will be initially urged forward'so as to swing the front wheel structure'to the left. Such swinging is stopped when the front wheel structure strikes projection 46. Projection 46 is so placed that the front wheel structure can only swing slightly to the left. The driving power then drives the vehicle forwardly whileit is slightly swung toward the left. 'Itcan be seen, therefore, that by pivoting .the front wheel structure atpoint 22 and by applying driving power to one of the wheels only, steering is automatically effected through the action of the driving motor alone.

The construction as above describedpermits a vehicle to proceed'in effect, to a point which is in a rightwarddirection. This is accomplished through thepositioning. of projection 41. When driving power is initially. applied, it will bias the front axle slightly to the left while driving it forward. If the driving power is then cut off, the wheel l'9 continues to turn through the inertia of the vehicle, but the wheel 20 is restrained'because the motor acts as a brakeithereon. Accordingly, each time that the vehicle is. stopped in its forward motion, it will turn sharply to the right. In order to permit such sharp .turn, the projection ll is effectively disposed or positioned so as to permit a cons'derable swing or tilt of the front axle as illustrated in the broken lines of Fig. 3. Referring to Fig. 6, if the vehicle started at point X, it can proceed to point Y which is to the right thereof by being started and stopped three times, the lines 50, 51 and 52 representing those periods when the vehicle is driven forwardly while the lines 53, 54 and 55 represent those periods when the vehicle is stopped whereby it coasts sharply to the right. Thus can be seen that both left and right steering are provided by the simple expedients illustrated so that the vehicle can be guided substantially to any desired point.

The-vehicle is also designed to travel rearwardly in a circle which is much sharper than the front drive to the left. An important aspect thereof is that the operator may substantially stand in .oneplace while the vehicle runs around him. Of course, he may turn with the vehicle to iavoidrbcingtangled in the wires.

In order to effect the reverse drive, the arm 33 is snapped 'so as to connect the terminals 42. Wheel 20 will be initially pulled back so as to tilt the front axle to an extent which is limited by projection .41. The vehicle will-then travel rearwardly .in a circle which has ahgh radius of curvature as determined by the pronounced tilt of the front axle. It will be understood that the bridging of either terminals M or 42 reverses the polarity of current to the motor and thus reversesl its direction.

The toy vehicle which has been above described is steerable in both directions without any specific .steeringmechanism, but the steering function is quite limited in extent and variety. Accordingly, in Fig. 7 is illustrated a modfied embodiment which may be completely. steered in any direction.

InFig. 7 are illustrated those parts of the modified embodiment which may differ from those of the first described embodiment. Wheels and 6| similarlyfioat or are freely rotatable on the front axle-which is effectively pivoted at 62 for the requiredswinging action above described. Driving power is, however, applied selectively or joint- 'ly toboth wheels. .By regulating the extent of drivingpowerapplied to either wheel, one wheel may be driven at. a faster rate than the other so that the effect thereof is to somewhat simulate the action .of the .first embodiment where the driving power is confined to but one wheel. It willbe recognized that by applying more power to wheel 60, for example, than to wheel 6!, wheel 60 (will be initially driven forward in the same manner as was Wheel 20 so as to cause the vehicle tobe steered while driven.

Motor 63 applies driving power to wheel Brl while motor 84 serves wheel 8|. Wires 55 and 66 areconnected to respective brushes of the motors and are alsoconnected to the ends of a rotary p0- tentiometer winding 61. Since the potential of the battery may be in the order of 3 volts, it has been found at a 9%; ohm resistance is satisfactory for winding $1. The movable arm fifl of the potentiometer serves to differentially apply the electric curent to either of the motors in a proportion which depends uponthe setting of the movable arm. Thusif it is swungto the extreme left, motor 64 will befurn'shed with most of the current, while motor 63 will be furnished with proportionately less current. The reverse is true when arm 68 is swung to the right as viewed in this figure. Intermediate positions will produce corresponding results and the vehicle may there-- fore .be steeredin either direction with precision while being driven either backward or forward.

In order to simulate the action of a conventional automobile, a wheel 69 is connected toand. above movable arm 68. It will be evident that the ro- '75-tation of wheel 69 will perform the desired steering. In actual practice, the battery will be housed in the casing 44 and both the switch and the potentiometer steering control will be disposed on such casing.

What is claimed is:

1. An elongated toy vehicle comprising pairs of front and rear weels, one of said pairs of wheels being freely swingable in a horizontal plane and relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle so as to steer the vehicle, an electric motor, the shaft of which is connected to one wheel only of said s-wingable pair of Wheels so as to drive the said one wheel, the other wheel thereof being freely rotatable pursuant to the travel of the vehicle so as to produce a differential actuation of the respective wheels of said swingable wheels and thereby initially effect a swing of said swingable wheels when the motor is energized and stops positioned so as to intercept and limit the free swing of said swingable wheels and thus determine the steering angle at all times when the vehicle is being driven either forwardly or rearwardly.

2. A toy vehicle according to claim 1 and wherein said stops comprise two projections for respectively intercepting, limiting and thus determining the steering angle of said pair of swingable wheels in the forward and reverse directions,

the projection intercepting free swinging in the forward direction being closer to said pair of swingable wheels than the other projection so as to produce forward travel with a substantially lesser degree of steering than in reverse travel.

3. A toy vehicle comprising a pair of wheels across one end Of the vehicle, said pair of wheels being freely swingable in a horizontal plane and relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle so as to steer the vehicle, wheel means for the other end, an electric motor connected to one of said pair of wheels so as to drive the same and propel the vehicle, the other wheel rotating solely through the said propulsion so as to produce a differential actuation of the respective wheels of said pair of wheels and thereby initially effect a swing of said pair of wheels when the motor is energized, and a stop positioned adjacent said swingable pair of wheels so as to intercept and limit the free swing of said pair of wheels and thus determine the steering angle at all times when the said pair of wheels has been swung in the direction of said stop and is being driven in said direction.

4. A toy vehicle according to claim 3 and including a second stop for determin'ng opposite direction, said electric motor being reversible, the respective stops being at opposite points relative to said pair of wheels and positioned so as to respectively intercept and limit free swing thereof each time the motor is initially energized in either direction of rotation, said second stop being spaced at a different horizontal distance from said pair of wheels than said first stop so as to provide different angles of steering in the forward and reverse directions.

JOHN WILLIAM ARPIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 607,997 Krieger July 26, 1898 644,853 Fahl Mar. 6, 1900 791,180 Cantono May 30, 1905 803,008 Moorrees Oct. 31, 1905 1,587,083 Neuzerling June 1, 1926 1,791,071 Coggon Feb. 3, 1931 1,830,310 Apple Nov. 3, 1931 2,036,328 Furey Apr. 7, 1936 2,244,528 Schur June 3, 1941 

